Safe Speed Forums

Just got back home from my first outing to Kendal since Sunday's changes.

Would be interested to hear others views on the state of play so far (Ernest, JT, IanH etc).

A few observations of mine -

1) Marks & Sparks car park less than half full (normally packed...) - so another store soon to complain "our trade is down x% since the traffic changes...."

2) Several elderly people seeming very confused about where their buses go from....

3) Many pedestrians ignoring the red stop man and crossing Lowther Street & All Hallows Lane forcing traffic to stop (yes, far more than used to do it!!)

4) Counted at least 10 vehicles (including contractors!) ignoring the no entry signs and driving what is now the "wrong way" down the road - one for Ian....

5) Madcap system at Windermere end - nearly a one mile detour instead of going straight ahead onto Stricklandgate (how is this environmentally friendly??). Why now ban a right turn into Maude Street?

Ok it's only been in force 2 days, so we'll need to give it time to settle down, but first impressions not great...!

I avoid going into Kendal, unless it is absolutely necessary. I use short cuts and rat runs to avoid wasting time and fuel whenever I am forced to go in, but working in Staveley, many customers from Kendal will rather come out and see me!

Yesterday, I had a customer tell me he wished to go to the re-cycling centre at Canal Head, missed the turning because he had not been before, and ended up going around town and back to the police station, to ask for directions. He got instructions on how to access the site at Carnforth, which since he lives outside Kendal, has proved easier to find, and nearly as quick to get to, AND he now shops at Tesco.

Nice one SLDC! I'll just go and have a look at "Suspension Watch" and see who's stepped out of line this month!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Dont blame you Ernest - unfortunately for traders in the town centre, many more people also seem to be avoiding going into town....

Is that 20mph limit legal? No lolipop signs up at all to indicate its starting point, only the markings on the road. No end of 20mph signs either at the town hall...

Nice to see (not) CSCP yet again touting for business this afternoon outside the Rugby Union club. Wake up Callaghan if you're watching, the danger in Kendal is now from drivers ignoring the new one way street restrictions. Sadly only a matter of time before there's a KSI in the "pedestrian priority" zone caused by a wrong way driver....

This is a real worry. The proximity with which Mrs H can park her car to M&S front door is inversely proportional to the amount of clobber she can carry from M&S to the car. Spookily enough it's also directly proportional to the amount left in my bank balance at the end of the month!!
Any road strategy which leaves easy to fill parking spaces at or around M&S is an unmitigated disaster .


Is that possible?? As someone who regularly descends from All Hallows lane down Lowther street, I never fail to be surprised by the lemming run over Lowther Sreet at precisely the same time as the lights change to green for me to drive through them :goosip: :goosip: !!


I've only seen it three times, once by myself and then by the patrol car behind, - we were attending an immediate response incident in town from the south side of town.
Third time was when I was overtaken by someone when I was cycling north through town. they were completely lost when they tried to park at McDonalds . Like any new road layout we'll need a bit of time to erase the memory patterns of the old system. I can see me having to do plenty of this , but not too many of these .

..and it's not clear enough. Many cars are still going straight ahead from Windermere Road side, certainly at night time which is as yet my only experience of the new system. I'd like to see some better signing of the compulsory left turn there.


No it's not enforcable, not until the signs are up.

My big concern which I have identified to our traffic management officer, is that the traffic lights at Lowther street show green at the same time from opposite sides of the main road, so traffic coming out of the pedestrianised zone can be shown a green light to turn left or right, at the same time as the main northbound traffic flow is moving. This may again be more of a night time issue, but it needs to be sorted. I witnessed a couple of near misses in the last couple of nights!



There's still much tweaking to be done, and a lot of signs to be installed, and repositioned etc, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

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Fixed ideas are like cramp, for instance in the foot, yet the best remedy is to step on them.

Ian

Yes there does seem to be a problem with the timing of the lights leaving the "pedestrian" zone! Yesterday I watched a full size single decker bus have great problems turning left into Lowther St, whilst traffic also turning right into Lowther St.

For the sake of Ian's wallet, hopefully M&S's car park will soon refill...

If one is travelling from Staveley, to visit somebody on Maude Street, how does one get there now?
I suppose I will have to resort to taking a short cut accross Craghills forecourt, and pretend to be interested in one of their cars!

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

I reckon the "approved" way to get to Maude Street will be the same as heading up Stricklandgate ie the near 1 mile detour via Station Road, Wildman St, Beezon Rd etc....

Could only happen in Tony Bliar's Britain - progress is to drive a mile when it used to be 10 yards....

I wouldn't try that excuse Ernest, they recently went out of business!

_________________
Fixed ideas are like cramp, for instance in the foot, yet the best remedy is to step on them.

Ian

Oh dear!
In that case, I shall be able to pull accross the forcourt, and act like a tourist, and say "I want to buy a Fiat, where have they gone?"

Never mind they stopped doing Fiat's years ago, I bet many people still asked!
of course, I could always find a different printer to the ones in Maude Street, but they were so helpful and efficient (And they let me park outside their premises while I nipped to the Post Office for 5 minutes!).

It's no wonder so many businesses are complaining in Kendal of losing trade!!

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Ian, I heard yesterday from a friend, that he has found a way of stopping his wife going into M&S.

Apparently she is a moral conscience shopper, and he has told her they carry out animal testing!
You should'nt HAVE to resort to such subterfuge, but if needs entail, perhaps it might work for you! (unless you wife is well read, or has no conscience!)

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

It’s certainly an improvement on my daily journey back from work- entering from South Kendal the only hold up I came to was on Monday on Milthorpe Rd which was nothing to do with the new layout.

It’s a good idea to make traffic wanting Maude Street and the shopping area to have to go the station and back – its keeps the traffic flowing.

The next big tests are going to be when the schools are fully back after the break and when the new diy store opens late summer off sandes avenue (hoping they put down a roundabout instead of another set of traffic lights on S Ave.

On the subject the businesses in the town centre having trade problems, I think the businesses and the councils could do a lot more to help the situation.

There has been a lack of support from the businesses for the Medieval Market – so much that it has been cancelled this year, why not support an event that attracts so many visitors to Kendal. With the main street being clear it would have been the ideal year to expand. I remember a few years back when the main street was closed for the Market and BBC Music Live, they spread all the stalls out – there were loads of people about many in the shops at the bottom end of town as music sets were being played outside the town hall and the brewery.

The council could help with parking, I don’t understand why they insist on charging for parking 24/7, a few years back they charged 6am – 6pm Mon to Sat. They could help for a start by having free parking on a Sunday (most that places are empty) and then look at maximising use of the car parks on the other days – if this means reducing parking charges to full up the car parks then so be it.

I'm afraid my wife is embarrassingly well read Ernest, and as with most vegetarians, an encompassing moral conscience......


But retail therapy is on an altogether higher ideological plane, fundamentally weakening most of these man made barriers!:(

_________________
Fixed ideas are like cramp, for instance in the foot, yet the best remedy is to step on them.

Ian

Is she vegetarian on animal welfare grounds, or dietary?
A manageress at a previous place of employment was strictly vegetarian, would'nt eat gum drops because of the gelatin, but wore leather shoes!!!!
I had'nt the heart to tell her the carpenters who fixed the counter she leaned on, used tallow to ease the screws!! It must be a nightmare avoiding any sort of moral compromise in issues like this, as the various processes are so wide spread and entrenched. A bit like it says on your new signature!

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!